UFC 291: Alex Pereira defeats Jan Blachowicz by split decision in light heavyweight debut

Alex Pereira only needed three UFC wins before he got a title shot at the middleweight title. He might have to wait even less at light heavyweight.

The former UFC middleweight champion defeated former light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) in his weight class debut at UFC 291 on Saturday, making his case as a top contender for the promotion's most mobile belt.

The win wasn't without controversy, with many on social media saying Blachowicz had the better fight.

Controversy or not, a win over Blachowicz is a pretty great way to introduce yourself to a light heavyweight division that hasn't seen a stable champion since the days of Jon Jones. The division has been without a champ since Jamahal Hill vacated the belt due to a ruptured Achilles tendon. Blachowicz previously fought Magomed Ankalaev to a controversial draw the last time it was vacant, and Ankalaev figures to get another shot soon, while Hill and fellow past champ Jiří Procházka recover from injuries.

"My focus is always the belt," Pereira said through an interpreter after the fight. "I want to fight for the belt, it doesn't matter against who."

Pereira arrived at light heavyweight after defeating UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya by fifth-round TKO, then losing the belt in a rematch via second-round KO. Rather than go for a trilogy against a fighter he famously beat twice during his kickboxing career, Pereira moved up a division.